I would never write anything that suggests the path to success is a continuum of positive, even euphoric experiences — that if you do all the right things everything will work out. Frequently it doesn’t; often you crash and burn. This is part and parcel of pursuing and achieving very ambitious goals. It is also one of the profound lessons I have learned during my career, namely, that even when you have an organization brimming with talent, victory is not always under your control.

Rather, it’s like quicksilver — fleeting and elusive, not something you can summon at will even under the best circumstances. Almost always, your road to victory goes through a place called failure.

— The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison, et al.